How To Be Human
by TooManyWhatIfs
Summary: Castiel has fallen from Heaven with no memory of how it happened. Now he must learn to adjust to life as a human and who better to teach him than Dean Winchester. Destiel.
1. Chapter 1

**(Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, I just made them do what I wanted them to do.)**

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><p>Castiel came to in a hole in the ground. He had no memory of how he had ended up here. He opened his eyes and attempted to take in his surroundings. The hole was about 4 feet deep and wasn't filled in. He wasn't in a grave, that much he knew for sure, though he wouldn't have put it past a demon to try a new form of torture. But he was an angel, he would have been able to get out of a hole in the ground without a problem. No, this wasn't a demon's doing, nothing supernatural was to blame for this. He looked down and found he was still wearing clothes. That was another good sign right?<p>

He decided that all was fine, apart from his strange loss of memory, and attempted to stand. Every muscle of his vessel screamed at him to stop. It was an odd sensation for Castiel, he had never felt anything like it. He lay back down as the stiffness of his limbs won over his desire to stand and he decided he would just have to leave without finding out where he was. Nothing happened however. Being able to move from one destination to an other in the blink of eye had amazed Dean and even made him uncertain of the angel many times in the past but Castiel was now unsure how he had been able to do it. He squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated hard.

He opened his eyes to see the same expanse of sky above him and the same dirty ground beneathe him. He had no idea what to do now. He was begininng to feel other strange sensations in his stomach and his eyes were starting feel itchy. This was definitely not normal. The only thing he could think of doing was calling Dean and asking for help.

Castiel hated to admit that he needed help in any situation but he was starting to feel anxious. Anxiousness, that was relatively new as well. He reached down to the pocket of his trench coat and felt around for his phone. It was still there. He dialled Dean's number and waited for him to answer.

"Cas?" came Dean's answer a few rings later.

"Hello, Dean." Castiel had no idea where to begin so there was a strange silence on the line.

"Cas, are you okay?" Dean asked, a note of aprehension in his voice. Castiel usually gave blunt statements when delivering news and didn't skirt around the edges. He also didn't call to chat. Dean knew something was up. "Something happen?"

"Uhh, yes. Something has happened." His voice was rough and his throat hurt.

"Well, what is it?" Dean was growing impatient.

"I'm stuck."

"You're stuck?" came the incredulous reply.

"Yes."

"Any chance you'll tell me where?" and Castiel could almost imagine the exasperated look that was on Dean's face.

"I don't know. I can't stand up. It hurts."

"I can't help you if I don't know where you are. You're going to have to find out." Castiel had known this when he had reached for his phone but attempted to delay the inevitable for as long as possible. He steeled himself and brought himself to his feet. There was a strange jerky, stiffness to his movements that he was not fond of.

"I'm in a field. There's a building across from it. Should I go there?"

"Yes, go there and find out where you are. I'll meet you there."

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><p>Dean walked into the motel room with a strange look on his face and placed the bags of take out on the table. Sam, following his stomach and not his mind, rushed over to the table and tore into the contents before taking in Dean's face.<p>

"You okay, man?" Sam asked hesitantly. You didn't just go about asking Dean about his feelings. But he hadn't bothered to hide the look on his face so Sam deemed it fair game.

"I just got a call from Cas."

"Oh. Why didn't he just stop by?"

"He said he was stuck. I'm just on my way to him right now. He's only a town over."

"That's weird. If he knew we were here why didn't he just come here? And what did he mean he was stuck?"

"I have no idea, Sammy but I wanna find out. I won't be long." Dean grabbed one of the bags of food and headed back to the Impala.

The drive to the next town took less than an hour and Dean found the place Cas had been talking about easily. He found Cas sitting outside on a bench with his face scrunched up in some sort of discomfort. Dean sat down next to him.

"Hey, Cas." Silence. "What did you mean when you said you were stuck?" Dean looked over to him and took in his appearance properly for the first time. There was dry dirt in his hair and on his face and a hint of some stubble on his chin. He was sitting with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped in front of him. There was something unsettling about his appearance that Dean couldn't quite place.

"I'm stuck here." he eventually replied and looked at Dean. He spread his arms out gesturing at the place as though to emphasise the situation.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Dean was utterly perplexed. Had Cas lost his mind?

"I can't go anywhere. And I feel strange."

"You feel strange? How do you feel?"

"I have an empty feeling in my abdomen. My throat feels dry and my eyes itch."

Dean stared ahead for a moment as though to take in what Cas had just said. Then he looked at Castiel and raised an eyebrow.

"Cas, are you hungry?" Castiel took a moment and then he nodded.

"What about my throat and my eyes?"

"That sounds like you're thirsty and you need some sleep. Dude, what happened? I thought angels didn't sleep."

"They don't." was Castiel's simple reply and with that both he and Dean seemed to realise that something had happened to Cas that he wasn't aware of. Whatever had happened in the time that Castiel couldn't remember had caused him to lose the qualities of an angel and gain some humanity along with it. Whatever had happened had caused him to fall. To lose it.

His grace.


	2. Chapter 2

Dean and Castiel sat in a small diner where Cas was taking the longest time possible to peruse the menu. Dean had already decided he was going to have his cheeseburger and was waiting impatiently for Cas' decision before calling the waitress over.

Cas knew that his vessel had had a hunger for burgers but now that he was...human he didn't know if that would change. This body was his now and it would have it's own hungers. Dean was growing more and more impatient every second. Drumming his fingers on the tabletop, fidgeting with the zip on his jacket and sighing every now and then. He finally gave up and grabbed the menu out of Cas' hands and said,

"Why don't you try a burger? It's the best thing you're going to get in this place anyway." he smiled when he had finished speaking. Cas was hesitant but then nodded without argument.

Dean called the waitress over and asked for their order. But of course he flirted during the interaction. For some reason Cas felt wary of the waitress and didn't want her to stick around. He didn't thank her when she gave him his burger and Dean began to give Cas a lesson in manners.

"When someone gives you food, you thank them. Okay, Cas?" he spoke as if to a child and Cas became even more irritated and shot Dean a look that could have fried his insides. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine, Dean." Cas enunciated each word and didn't look at Dean as he spoke, he simply began to eat.

And Dean was right. The burger was the best thing he could have gotten in this place. He finished it before Dean was even halfway through his and he had forgotten all memories of the waitress and the confusion as to why he had been so angry at Dean only moments ago.

Dean ordered him another and he ate it slower than he had the first one and by the time he had finished the fries that had come with it, he felt full. Cas looked at Dean and beamed as if he could never be happier than he was at this moment. Dean felt relieved to see that Cas was no longer in a bad mood and smiled back.

"Ready to go meet Sam then?" Dean had remembered he'd told his brother he wouldn't be long in getting Castiel. It had taken him an hour to get here, an hour to eat and it would be another hour before they got back to the motel. Dean felt nervous about sharing the long car journey with the newly human Castiel. There was something strange about his mood shifts and it was unsettling to Dean that someone could not know what hunger or thirst felt like.

When they both got into the Impala, Dean decided that now was as good a time as any to begin the questioning. Cas was well fed and watered and had no excuse to dodge his questions, after all it may be important in trying to determine what had caused Castiel's recent change in being. However, this thought was very quickly pushed out of Dean's mind when he heard a soft snore to his right. He looked over and Cas was slumped in the seat, dead to the world.

"Great." Dean said to himself and stared on at the road ahead.

"I don't know, dude. I'm starting to get worried. He hasn't opened his eyes since we got here."

"He'll be fine. I can't imagine how exhausting it would be to fall from heaven."

"It's been 24 hours, Sam. He's human, that's not normal."

Castiel opened an eye sleepily when he heard the concern in Dean's voice. He began to sit up and he could feel two pairs of eyes staring at him.

"See, I told you he'd be fine." Sam said gesturing at Castiel.

"Shut up." Dean commanded and walked over to sit beside Cas on the bed. "How do you feel?"

"I'm hungry again. And thirsty. And my body feels stiff." Castiel cleared his throat and rubbed his eyes of his sleep.

"You'll feel better once you walk around a bit. As soon as your dressed, we're hitting the road." Dean sounded rather excited and Castiel smiled to hear the tone in Dean's voice. He stood up and faced Sam and Dean.

"I'm dressed, let's go."

"Oh, no. Not like that. You've been asleep an entire day, man. I am not sharing a car with you unless you shower and put on some clean clothes."

Castiel lifted an arm above his head and sniffed himself and then recoiled. The action made Sam and Dean laugh and Castiel frown. He definitely did need a shower but he had no other clothes.

Dean seemed to read his mind and crossed to the bag he had already packed sitting on the table. He pulled out a clean set of clothes and handed them to Cas.

"You do know how to shower, don't you?" Dean asked. Castiel may not have been human for very long but he had been around Dean enough to recognise sarcasm for what it was. Castiel's temper was becoming short and he grabbed the clothes with a jerk and answered in a clipped tone, "Yes, of course." and stalked into the bathroom.

Half an hour later Cas came out of the bathroom clean and wearing Dean's clothes. When Sam looked up he snorted. Cas looked just like a smaller version of Dean with dark hair.

"Yeah, yeah, get over it, Sammy. Let's go." Dean stalked to the door and walked away leaving Castiel confused.

"Is this not okay?" he asked Sam.

"It's perfectly fine, Cas. Come on." Sam left the room as well and Castiel ran after him shouting,

"What about food?"

By the next morning the Impala was pulling up to Bobby's house. Dean shut off the ignition and looked to the back seat were Cas was asleep again.

"How can he do that?" Dean asked Sam. Sam just shrugged and got out of the car. Dean shook Cas and he opened his eyes with a start. He sat up rubbing the sleep from them and then turned them to Dean. He grinned. He was doing that a lot lately. Cas seemed to be able to go from happy to angry to sad and back to happy in a matter of minutes. It was unsettling to Dean as he was used to him not even really smiling.

He smiled back though, not wanting to show Cas his concern. Bobby was waiting for them by the front door and looked at Castiel stretching as he got out of the car. Even to Bobby it was odd seeing him do normal, everyday human things.

When they were inside the house, Bobby began the questioning. He grilled Cas about the events of the last few days but seeing as Cas had lost all memory of what had happened, it wasn't helpful.

"Well, we should do the usual routine. Just to make sure." Bobby left the room and came back a few minutes later with a silver knife, salt and a bottle of holy water. Dean began to voice his concerns when he realised what Bobby intended to do.

"I don't think that's a good idea. He's been having pretty extreme moods, it might be too intense for him."

"You would think that." Sam mumbled from the other side of the room.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Dean asked in a harsh tone crossing over to Sam. Sam began to smirk.

"Nothing. Nothing." Dean gave him one last suspicious look and walked back over to Bobby, who also had the ghost of a smile on his face. Bobby composed himself,

"I'm sorry, we have to be sure." He began with the holy water, then the salt and then the knife.

Dean was right, Cas did not take kindly to being cut with the knife and howled in pain. Dean was beginning to realise that these intense moods may be because Castiel had lived without so many emotions for so long and all of a sudden they had all come at once.

"You okay, Cas?" Dean asked warily.

"Yes, I'll be fine. I think I need a drink though." Dean grinned and an idea came into his head.

Castiel was human now. He needed someone to teach him how to be human. And Dean knew the perfect place to start.


	3. Chapter 3

They walked into what Castiel thought was the most crowded bar he had ever seen. Dean pushed him through the crowds straight toward the bar and pushed him down onto one of the stools. Cas looked around nervously as Sam and Dean sat on either side of him. Sam glanced up at the small stage to the right of the bar and groaned,

"It's karaoke night." He threw his hands up in the air, exasperated.

"Excellent!" Dean exclaimed and grinned at Sam and Castiel.

"What is karaoke?" Cas asked, his big blue eyes turning to Dean.

"Just watch." Dean said as the lights dimmed and a spotlight appeared over the stage illuminating a lone man who already looked to be pretty drunk even though it was still early.

"Dean likes to laugh at the embarassment of others." Sam told Cas as if this explained exactly what was happening. Cas turned to the stage and squinted. He could see a small screen light up with words and the intro to a song started. The man on stage held a microphone to his mouth and began to sing Free's "All Right Now" in a slurred voice.

Dean began tapping his foot and clapping his hands. Castiel was fixated with the smile on Dean's face and found himself smiling along with him. A very big smile. Dean noticed that he was being watched and asked Castiel what was wrong.

"Nothing. You just seem to enjoy it. You should go up and sing." Cas suggested but Dean just laughed and slapped Cas on the back playfully as he turned to the bar to order some drinks.

"I'd have to be very drunk."

"Then let's drink." Cas began to get excited at the prospect of seeing Dean onstage singing.

"Only if you drink with me." Dean raised his eyebrows suggestively and grinned. Castiel accepted the offer.

It didn't take long for Cas to get very drunk as his tolerance for alcohol had gone down to almost non-existent. Dean took a little while longer but even so, it wasn't long until both of them were staggering towards the stage and Sam was shaking his head then hiding it in his hands.

Cas had watched many people before him and Dean do this so he now knew to sing into the microphone the words that appeared on the small screen. Dean had picked the song and the intro to Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" filled the bar. Dean looked at Cas as if to ask if he was ready. Cas nodded and they began to sing.

Sam sat at the bar staring at his brother and the former angel and then began to laugh as he saw they were having the time of their lives. Castiel couldn't hit a note and Dean was singing as if he were sitting in his car. He even added in some air guitar.

As the last few notes of the song quietened down, the rest of the bar clapped and wolf-whistled. Dean put his arm around Castiel's shoulders and pulled him into a bow.

The climbed of the stage and staggered back over to Sam. They were both grinning from ear to ear but were also exhausted, it had ben a very long day. They decided to head back to Bobby's and Sam took Dean's car keys from him before he even attempted to get behind the wheel.

The drive to Bobby's hadn't taken more than ten minutes but Sam was ready to hit Dean and Cas by the time they were falling in the front door. They had spent the car journey sitting in the back seat singing. They had performed Sweet Home Alabama again, Cas remembered most of the words, and then Dean had begun to teach him the choruses to his favourite classic rock songs.

Sam forced some water into them both before he stalked off to the spare bedroom. Dean fell onto the mattress on the floor and Cas onto the couch and their singing and laughter had died down.

"Maybe we should make this a regular thing. Karaoke night." Dean suggested and looked up at Cas from his position on the floor. Cas chuckled.

"Yes. I like to see you happy." The words were soft and whispered and then his soft snores filled the room.

Dean smiled to himself. In his drunken state, it didn't feel strange that Cas' response had made his stomach flutter.

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><p><strong>Note: I have a lot of ideas for this story and sometimes they come to me randomly (like what happened with this one) and I just have to include it. <strong>

**My best friend read these chapters before I posted them and said she thought the ending to this chapter was cute. **

**I'm finding it very easy to write this story just now so I'll probably be updating every few days. So read and review and enjoy!**


	4. Chapter 4

Dean was the first to wake up the next morning. He opened his eyes to find he and Cas were facing each other, though the latter was still very much asleep. Dean just looked at Castiel for a few minutes. He was lying on his stomach with one arm dangling over the side of the couch. His eyes were fluttering a little but never fully opened. Dean wondered if he was dreaming and if so, what he would be dreaming about. Probably Heaven.

Dean dreamt of the exact opposite. Well, usually he did. Not last night. He couldn't remember what he dreamt of last night and wondered if he had had a little bit too much to drink. He smiled, hazily remembering his and Cas' drunken performance last night in the bar. And in the car too. Sam hadn't been happy.

Dean got up and went to the kitchen to make himself some coffee. He sat at the table and watched Cas sleep as he drank. Then the last thing Castiel had said to him last night came into his head,

"I like to see you happy."

Dean narrowed his eyes at the sleeping figure and tried to think about what that could mean. Suddenly, he heard a voice from the the other side of the kitchen,

"You're watching him sleep now? I don't know man, that's kinda creepy." Sam was smirking when Dean turned around to glare at him.

"Shut up."

"It's weird to see him sleeping though, isn't it? He just seems so...human." Sam sat down and looked over at Cas as well.

"That's because he is now, Sammy. And he needs some guidance from someone who is skilled in the art of being human." Dean replied. He had all sorts of ideas about what he could teach Cas. The finer points that humanity had to offer over Castiel's previous "club".

"Please do not teach him to be you, Dean. He definitely isn't you." Sam pleaded.

"What do you mean? I'm brilliant." Dean flashed a winning smile at Sam and Sam laughed.

"He just hasn't got your confidence and plus we don't know what he's like human yet. He could be different from when he was an angel. He's already feeling his emotions much stronger than the average human." Sam stated all of this in an analytical sort of voice and Dean just nodded. He was still too tired and hungover to think too much. He bowed his head and clutched it with his hands trying to remember where Bobby kept the aspirin.

Suddenly there was a noise from the living room and Dean looked up. Castiel had fallen off the couch with a thud and was trying to stand while clutching his own head. He eventually stood but then collapsed back down to sit on the couch. Dean went over to Cas and sat beside him. He put a comforting hand on Cas' shoulder.

"Welcome to the morning after! D'you want something to eat?" Cas turned to Dean and gave him a look full of disgust.

"No. My head hurts."

"Ah, aspirin!"

"Could you not shout, Dean, please?"

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><p>After Cas had gotten over the initial shock of his hangover he was sitting at the table in the kitchen gladly eating. When he glanced over at Dean he could see that he was thinking hard about something.<p>

"What are you thinking about, Dean?" Cas asked while he put another forkful of bacon into his mouth.

"You." Dean said seriously and then grinned at the shocked expression on Cas' face.

"I'm trying to decide what to teach you first." he continued.

"Teach me?" Cas was perplexed. What did Dean expect to teach him that he didn't already know?

"Yep. You need to know some of the basics first." Cas didn't seem convinced. He still thought that he knew everything he needed to know.

"Dean, what could you possibly teach me?"

"You need to learn to drive. To cook. And my personal favourite, how to pick up chicks." Dean was certain he was going to pass on the best of his knowledge.

Cas took a minute to think and realised he would need to know these things. Well, driving and cooking anyway. He would have to use a car now that he no longer had his wings. And he had to eat and Dean wouldn't always be there to cook every meal for him. He wasn't sure about the last suggestion Dean had made. It didn't appeal to him as he assumed it did to Dean.

"Can we start with driving?" Cas was suddenly excited. He would love to drive the Impala and see what the fuss was about. Dean's eyes lit up when he realised that Cas was not going to be difficult and was actually looking forward to spending so much time with Dean.

"Of course. We'll start as soon as you're ready." Dean got up and went outside, leaving Cas almost bouncing in his seat and hurriedly finishing his breakfast.

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><p>"What about the Impala?" Cas asked, disheartened, when he saw that Dean was leaning against one of Bobby's cars and not the baby he was so proud of.<p>

"I'm not starting you out in her." Dean explained, "You're a learner, man." Dean walked around to the passenger side and Cas got in the driver side door.

"Okay. This car is a manual. That means it has a gearbox so you have to use the gearstick quite a bit while you're driving." Dean put his hand on the gearstick and shook it just to emphasise what he was talking about. Cas nodded and put both hands on the steering wheel.

"Okay. So turn the key in the ignition." Cas followed Dean's instructions. "Now press down on the clutch which is that one", Dean pointed, "Good, okay. Now go into first. Good. Now you have to press down on the gas pedal while taking your foot off the clutch." The car stalled and Cas blushed, embarrassed. Dean noticed.

"Cas, it's okay. I did that a few times when I started driving." Cas smiled and tried again and the car lurched forward a bit but he gained control and started to drive towards the exit of Bobby's yard. He moved into second successfully and looked over at Dean grinning. Dean looked at Cas and laughed at the expression on his face. Cas laughed back and then the front of the car hit Bobby's gate.

The airbags deployed and Cas and Dean lurched forward in their seats. Fortunately, they hadn't been going fast enough to do them any damage. Dean felt like laughing again but the smile dropped off his face when he saw that Cas was in full blown panic mode. He instinctively reached out and pulled Cas into a hug and told him it was okay. Cas' tense body relaxed in Dean's arms.

"Are you sure?" Cas almost whispered in Dean's ear. A shiver went down Dean's spine that he immediately tried to repress. He took a deep breath and put his big smile back on his face as he pulled away.

"I am most definitely sure." Cas smiled. They both got out of the car and looked at the damage. The front was pretty badly crushed and Dean doubted it would be fixed easily.

"I'm glas this wasn't your car, Dean." Cas said as he began to laugh.

"Oh god, me too!" and they both started laughing as though they were both drunk as they were last night. "I think that's enough lessons for today. What do you think?" Cas just nodded and Dean walked around the other side of the car and put his arm around Cas' shoulders.

They were still laughing when they went into the house. Bobby had appeared and was sitting at his desk when they walked in. He eyed them suspiciously. Dean cleared his throat.

"I was just teaching Cas how to drive."

"And how did that go?" Bobby questioned, narrowing his eyes. Dean was trying not to laugh. Cas was making no such effort and was doubled over clutching his stomach.

"Terrific. Just...excellent. You might want to move your gate though, it's in Cas' car's way." he pointed in the direction of the yard. Bobby sighed.

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><p>Cas stirred in his sleep that night. He was dreaming. And it was a beautiful dream. His mind was replaying the day's events and it paid particular attention to when Dean had embraced him in the car. The way that Dean's arms had comforted Cas as easily as if they were magic. He felt all tension slip away in that instant. When he had spoken in Dean's ear, he could swear he had felt Dean shiver. Dean pulled away and Cas felt the loss and immediately wanted it back. He suddenly reached over and grabbed Dean's shirt and pulled him close until their lips crashed together. A second of hesitation and Dean responded.<p>

Cas smiled in his sleep and then he sat up suddenly. He felt guilty having dreamt about Dean in that way. He was a man, wasn't he supposed to dream about women like that? Dean had said he was going to teach Cas how to "pick up chicks" and Cas remembered how uncomfortable he had felt when he thought about that. Maybe there was something wrong with him. He wanted to ask Dean if it was okay to dream about another man but he didn't want to admit that it had been Dean he had dreamt about.

Right on cue, Dean sat up and looked at Castiel through the darkness.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice thick with sleep.

"I had an odd dream." Cas told him hesitantly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Dean had suspected that the former angel might have found dreaming overwhelming. He was willing to listen to Cas if he was feeling distressed. Cas said, "No!" rather too quickly and loudly to convince Dean.

"What was it about?" Dean got up and sat on the couch at Castiel's feet. Cas brought his knees up to his chest and hugged his legs. It was a defensive move, he didn't want to admit his dream.

"Come on, man, you can tell me." Dean playfully punched Cas' arm and Cas looked at him and smiled. He groaned, realising that he couldn't possibly lie to Dean. He had no idea how. He buried his head in his hands for a second then reappeared, sighing.

"I dreamt about...something private." Cas said, almost phrasing it like a question. A moment of thinking and then Dean understood.

"Ooh. Was she hot?" Dean winked at Cas and Cas almost laughed.

"This...person... is attractive, yes." and he immediately regretted it. He knew he would turn crimson when Dean found out who exactly they were talking about. Dean seemed to pick up on Cas' hesitation when answering him.

"Who did you dream about, Cas?" genuinely curious. Cas looked down at his hands feeling ashamed about the words he was about to say.

"In my dream, I was kissing a...man...that I know." Cas said and then hid his face again. Dean was stunned into silence. He cleared his throat and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"Okay. Wow." Dean scrubbed a hand down his face.

"Is there something wrong with me?" Cas asked hesitantly and he could feel himself shaking with nerves. Dean was shocked.

"What? No!" he turned to face Cas as he spoke and shook his head and hands vigorously.

"But am I not supposed to like women? Like you do. Like Sam does." Dean put a hand on Castiel's shoulder and looked him in the eyes.

"Listen to me, Cas. You can like whoever you want. There is definitely nothing wrong with that. I just feel like an idiot." Now Cas was confused.

"Why would you feel like that?" Cas asked as he knitted his brows together in the way he used to do when he didn't understand a joke of Dean's.

"Those times before when I was talking about picking up chicks. Man, that must have made you uncomfortable. I guess I'm going to have to change our plans a bit then." Dean laughed to himself then looked at Cas again. "Is it just men?"

Cas looked away from Dean's eyes for a moment and then nodded. He decided it was safer not to add:

"No. Only you."


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: I just thought I should say this isn't set at any particular time. It's sort of an AU, I guess. Stuff has happened, stuff hasn't happened. Just go with it. **

**Also, massive thank you to my reviewers. I didn't think a single person would enjoy reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it so it's great to read of your appreciation. :) Okay, onto chapter 5.**

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><p>The next morning Castiel walked into the kitchen hesitantly. He didn't know if Dean would have told Sam and Bobby about last night's discovery. Dean smiled at him and made his way over to him. He put an arm around his shoulders and turned both of them around so that neither Bobby nor Sam could se their faces. He leaned in close to Cas and Cas' breath hitched. He could smell Dean from this close, the strongest smell being minty toothpaste as Dean whispered right by his ear.<p>

"I didn't tell them. I thought you might want to do it yourself." Castiel was momentarily distracted as he felt Dean's hot breath against his ear and the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. But then the reality of what Dean had suggested crashed around him and he looked at Dean with panic written all over his face. He shook his head violently and gulped. He felt strangely breathless.

"Okay, calm down. Do you want them to know? I mean, there's no point in hiding it. We'll be spending a lot of time together from now on." Dean tried to reason with Castiel. Cas realised that Dean thought he was ashamed of his newly discovered sexuality but that was not the reason he felt panicky. He just had no idea how to bring a subject like that up in conversation. After all, he wasn't exactly the master of subtlety or tact. He finally found his voice.

"Can you do it for me?" He looked into Dean's eyes pleadingly and gripped Dean's arm tightly as he waited for his response.

"Uhh.." Dean scratched the back of his neck and chuckled a little, "well, I guess...I could. Uhh..." and then Dean knew he couldn't ignore those eyes. The perfectly blue eyes that seemed to reach right down to his soul. "Yes, okay!" He took a deep breath and they both turned around. Bobby was sitting at the table and Sam was leaning against the counter, both had their eyes fixed on Dean and Castiel with the same eyebrow hitched in question.

Dean opened his mouth but words failed him. How was he supposed to bring this up? He looked at Castiel who was fidgeting by his side. Then Cas looked up at him with the same puppy dog eyes. Dean turned around and just blurted it out. Fast.

"Casisgay!" he almost shouted it across the room and the looks on Sam and Bobby's faces just showed more confusion than to begin with. Dean tried again.

"Cas...discovered something about himself last night. I, uhh...won't be taking him to pick up any chicks now." he put extra emphasis on the word "chicks" and Sam clicked. He laughed.

"What?" Dean and Cas both spoke at the same time.

"I was wondering how long it was going to take for you to figure it out. I don't want all the details, you can keep that to yourselves. But hey, if you guys are happy, I'm happy." Bobby nodded in agreement after Sam's speech.

"Wait! No, no, no! He's...I'm not...Sam!" Sam just waved a hand in the air in a "whatever" gesture and walked out of the room with a smirk on his face.

"What is it?" Castiel asked Dean. He had forgotten that Cas was still pretty innocent when it came to this part of being human.

"He...uhh...thinks that we...you know." Dean didn't think he had ever felt more uncomfortable in his life.

"No, I don't know."

"He thinks we had sex, Cas." Dean had given up on trying to skirt around the topic.

"Oh."

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><p>The rest of the morning was relatively awkward. Sam and Bobby had gone out to work a job a few hours ago and decided that it was best that Castiel not come along because, as a human, he was weak and Dean needed to look after him. They might be gone a few days but Dean didn't think he'd miss Sam in that time Before he'd closed the front door he had smirked and said, "Just make sure the both of you are dressed when we get back."<p>

Dean needed to do something to relieve the tension in the room and when he looked at Castiel, who was sitting in a chair opposite him reading a book, he remembered that Cas had no clothes of his own. He had been wearing Dean's that were a little too big for him and made him look a little childish. Dean decided he would have to get Cas some new clothes.

"How would you like to go shopping, Cas?"

* * *

><p>It was quite a drive to the nearest store big enough to sell any decent clothes and Dean was getting more tense every minute the awkward silence dragged on. Dean decided to play some music and just put in the first tape his hand landed on. Suddenly Foreigner's "Hot Blooded" came blaring through the speakers. Castiel jumped a little at the sudden noise but began to relax after a while.<p>

Dean felt comfortable behind the wheel of his car listening to the music and before he knew it he was singing along and drumming the steering wheel. Cas kept stealing glances over at Dean while trying to stifle his laughter but during one of the guitar solos he just couldn't hold it in anymore. He was in hysterics. Dean had no idea why but would take this over not speaking anyday. This carried on until they got to the department store with Castiel joining in with vocals on the songs he could remember.

Dean parked the car and they both headed towards the entrance still grinning. As soon as Dean opened the door Castiel saw them.

The suits.

He ran straight towards a black suit and declared he had to have it. Dean smiled fondly when he looked at it. It was exactly the same kind of suit that Castiel's vessel, Jimmy, had chosen to wear.

"Great, we just need to find you a new trench coat." Dean teased and Castiel just smiled back.

"I have grown fond of this particular outfit."

"Fair enough. But you can't go through the rest of your life wearing nothing but suits." Suddenly the thought of Castiel wearing nothing popped into Dean's head but he pushed it out just as fast as it had come. He coughed before he continued. "We should look at jeans and things as well."

"Okay, fine." Castiel agreed but hung onto the suit.

Dean lead Cas to the the trousers and picked out a few pairs for him to try on. They moved onto the shirts afterwards and then ended up in the fitting rooms. Dean waited outside for Castiel to finish trying on his clothes. After a few minutes Cas came out of the room and presented his new outfit to Dean. Dean's jaw almost dropped.

Cas was wearing a fitted t-shirt that was just the right amount of tight around his muscled torso and jeans that hung just low enough on his hips to show off the V shape going down to his-

No! Dean snapped his head up and nodded. Castiel seemed a little confused at Dean's discomfort but smiled and went back into the cubicle. Another few minutes went by until he emerged again, this time wearing the suit he had picked up when they first walked in. And all the discomfort Dean had been feeling evaporated as he saw Castiel, Angel of the Lord, standing in front of him. Even though he was human now, he still managed to hang onto that sense of power that made Dean feel a little bit inferior in his presence. He couldn't escape the sound of suprise that came out of his mouth.

"Woah." in a rushed sort of whisper. His eyes travelled up and down Castiel's body until they rested on his face. Cas' eyes lit up and Dean knew that he would have to get this suit as well as all the other normal clothes he was getting as well. If Cas came on a job with Sam and Dean some day, he might need a suit. Besides, this was Dean's favourite outfit on Castiel and he wanted to keep it around.

"Yes, we're definitely getting you that." Then he felt instantly embarassed that he'd shown just how keen he was in seeing Cas wearing a fancy suit. But Castiel, being Castiel, was oblivious. He was just excited that he got to keep his suit. He gave Dean a brief hug before he went back into the cubicle to change. Dean was left standing outside with a stupid grin on his face that he was trying desperately to get rid of but nothing was working. He just resolved to stare at the floor instead.

"These were tight. Should I get a larger pair?" Castiel was holding up a pair of jeans as they exited the fitting rooms. Dean was tempted to answer with "No." but stopped himself just in time.

"Sure. Let's go."

They found the stand they were looking for and Castiel had just begun to search for the right size when Dean caught the eye of one of the shop assisstants. She smiled an alluring smile at him and began to make her way over. Dean groaned silently. Any other time he would have welcomed this but right now he wanted to spend some time with Cas. For whatever reason, he wasn't sure. Because this is what friends do? Go shopping together. Yeah, that was it.

"Can I help you?" she looked straight at Dean even though it was obvious he was not the one who needed help. Castiel turned around and smiled at the assisstant.

"Yes, please. I need these in a bigger size but there doesn't seem to be any." he held the jeans out to the woman. She pursed her lips. This obviously wasn't going the way she had wanted it to go. She composed herself as she took the jeans from Castiel and then looked at Dean again.

"Anything I can help _you_ with?" her tone was suggestive and she looked Dean up and down. Castiel was beginning to get annoyed with this woman like he had with the waitress Dean had flirted with in the diner a few days ago. He didn't know what to do though. If Dean wanted to go with this woman, what could Castiel do to stop him?

But Dean didn't want anything from this woman except a new pair of jeans for Castiel.

"No, thanks." he wrapped his arms around Castiel's waist and rested his chin on Cas' shoulder. Castiel was too shocked to move. "Just his jeans please." He flashed a winning smile at the assisstant who immediately looked very flustered and embarassed.

"Yes, of course. Right away." she walked away quickly.

Dean laughed and Castiel could feel the hot breath on his neck. It seemed to wake him and he spun around in Dean's arms.

"What just happened?" Castiel's voice betrayed him and showed the mild hysteria he was feeling just because Dean was touching him.

Dean shrugged with his arms still around Cas.

"She was coming onto me and I didn't want anything to do with her. So I just made it look like I was unavailable to her." he looked into Castiel's eyes which seemed to be even bluer this close up and winked.

"Didn't you like her?" Castiel asked trying to sound off hand but failing. He was a bit flustered himself.

"Not really. Plus, I'm supposed to be spending time with you." Castiel gulped. He didn't want to let himself hope that maybe this was Dean confessing something but the thought came into his head any way. It was absurd though so Castiel averted his gaze downwards but seeing as they were still pressed so tightly together he ended up resting his forehead on Dean's chest. He could feel Dean's heartbeat from here and it seemed to pick up a bit. Castiel looked back at Dean who had a very serious look on his face. Dean took a deep breath.


	6. Chapter 6

"Here you are, sir." Dean and Castiel were shaken from the hold that they seemed to have on each other in that moment by the shopgirl returning with Castiel's new jeans. Castiel wanted more than anything in the world for her to have been just a minute later in returning. Dean's eyes widened as he looked at Castiel again and he coughed and dropped his arms. Castiel turned around and snatched the jeans from the girl's hand with a sour look on his face. The girl seemed to have realised she had interrupted some intimate moment and the embarrased blush that suddenly hit her face was obvious to the two men.

"Do you want to try these on before we buy them?" Dean asked Castiel and then he winked. Castiel became very confused. Why was Dean winking at him right after he had shown quite obviously that he felt uncomfortable being that close to him? Castiel narrowed his eyes as he looked at Dean.

"No, they should be fine. Let's go." and he stalked off. Dean jogged over to Castiel and put a hand on his shoulder to stop him and turn him so they could talk face to face.

"What was that about?" There was genuine concern in Dean's eyes as they searched Castiel's face for some sort of answer.

"You-you had your arms around me and-" Castiel stuttered to get the words out. Dean understood. Castiel had been uncomfortable with the close contact.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just didn't want that chick hitting on me, I didn't really think. I won't do it again." Castiel knew that Dean thought it was the intimate contact that Castiel had disliked, not the moment when Dean had brushed him off. And he was fine letting Dean think this. It was easier this way. This way he wouldn't have to be humiliated if Dean found out his true feelings. He obviously didn't feel the same way and Castiel wanted to avoid embarrasment and heart break.

"Good." He replied even though it was the biggest lie he had ever told.

* * *

><p>The ride back home was awkward. Dean was very disappointed. He had thought this shopping trip would help bridge that little gap that had been created after Sam's comments. But it seemed to have just made it worse. He looked over at Castiel who was staring out the window looking pensieve.<p>

"Hey, Cas. Do you, uh, wanna try driving again?" Dean tried to start a conversation. Castiel was still and silent for a few moments and then he turned slowly to look at Dean. He looked as though he were trying to decipher something on Dean's face and then he gave up. He shrugged and turned back to the window and Dean was struck by how human the action was. Dean then remembered that he still had a lot of stuff to teach Cas about being human. But he also realised then that it wasn't just that he had to teach Cas human things so that he could blend in, he could also show Cas some of the fun parts of being human so that he could see that the club he belonged to now was so much better than the dicks he used to hang out with. Sure, driving and cooking were fun skills to have but Dean was thinking about better things. Fun things. The kinds of things he and Sam only ever did when they had some free time.

When they got back to Bobby's Dean sat down and made a list of all the things he was going to take Cas to do while Sam and Bobby were gone. The list included going to the movies, playing laser tag, going for ice cream and eating so much they thought they were going to puke.

Dean was proud of his list and when he showed it to Cas he felt like he was 3 years old again and showing his mother his Christmas list. Cas read it, his eyebrows knitting together in that familiar way that made Dean smile for no reason he could determine.

"So which do you wanna do first?" Dean sat beside Cas on the couch and looked at him, grinning.

"Uhh. I don't know. There are very many things on this list, Dean."

"Okay, I know. It's kinda late so how about a movie?"

"Yes, okay."

Dean jumped up and shouted, "Excellent!" at Castiel's response.

* * *

><p>When they got to the movie theater, Dean decided he would let Cas pick the movie. This, however, turned out to be a very big mistake. They were still standing staring at the listings fifteen minutes after they had entered the theater. Castiel was staring up at the screen with a finger on his chin. Dean was watching him. He was wearing his new jeans, the ones that hung low on his hips. Dean had to try hard not to follow his gaze downward. Instead he cleared his throat and said,<p>

"How about you just close your eyes and point to one and we'll go see it?"

"Um. Okay." Castiel closed his eyes and stretched his arm out. He moved it up and down a few times and then stopped. He opened his eyes and looked at Dean.

"Aww maan. It's a chick flick." He looked pleadingly at Castiel for a moment. Cas shrugged again. He knew of Dean distaste for "chick flicks" and thought it would be the perfect revenge for his rejection earlier, to make him sit through one.

"It's the one I chose. Come on." Dean trudged up to the ticket counter.

Dean felt embarrassed throughout the entire film. He felt like people were watching him and judging him for being there. That was ridiculous of course. The theater was dark, no one could even see him. And, as Cas had pointed out, there were plenty other men there. But Dean knew they were only there because their girlfriends had made them go. It would probably look as if Cas was his boyfriend in this situation.

Wow. Where had that thought come from? He was surprised at the thought. He was surprised that he didn't entirely hate the idea. As soon as Dean had had that thought, he felt a strange tension in the air. He was sitting in the dark, right next to Cas, watching a romantic film. He began to get very nervous and he felt as though he was sweating profusely. He knew he was overreacting but he felt a very strange desire to reach out and touch the back of Castiel's hand that was lying palm down on the arm rest between them. He tried as hard as he could to relax and then turned his focus to the film.

It was reaching it's climax and the guy had finally got the girl. The theater was filling with some love song while the characters kissed and professed their love to each other. Dean had a fleeting thought that maybe Cas had chosen this film on purpose to try and tell Dean something. The thought disappeared as quickly as it had come. Castiel had shown quite obviously that he wasn't interested in Dean this morning. Dean felt a little disappointment in this realisation.

He had it bad for Castiel. He knew it now.

* * *

><p><strong>As I said with the other fic I'm working on right now, I may not be able to update regularly. Which sucks because I really enjoy reading reviews after I've out up a chapter but ho hum that's life and life has exams.<strong>

**I'm rambling now though so I just apologise for irregularity.**


	7. Chapter 7

Sam and Bobby returned on Sunday night to find Dean and Cas awkwardly manuveouring around each other and never looking each other directly in the eyes. Sam endured this until late on Tuesday night when they were sitting in Bobby's living room about to watch some action movie that Dean had picked. Sam and Cas were sitting on the couch and Bobby was in a chair. Dean, instead of taking the space beside Cas, cleared a stack of books and other papers off another chair and sat down.

Dean could feel Sam's eyes on him and when he looked over he could see a confused and somewhat incredulous look on Sam's face. Sam took a deep breath,

"Why are you avoiding Cas?" Castiel's eyes widened and he shrank back a little into the couch. Dean tried to defend himself but Sam spoke over him, "Don't even bother, Dean. I know something is going on. You haven't even looked at each other in days."

"Absolutely nothing is going on, okay? Now can we watch the movie?" Dean turned to the TV and opened his beer bottle, clearly showing that the conversation was over. Sam looked to Bobby as if to ask him to intervene. Bobby just shook his head. Sam reluctantly gave up. For now.

Later that night Dean was in the bathroom taking longer than necessary to brush his teeth so that when he returned to his mattress in the living room, Castiel would already be asleep on the couch. This plan was ruined, however, when Cas appeared beside Dean in the bathroom. They both looked at each other in the dirty mirror above the sink. After a little while Dean cleared his throat as if this would disspell the tension between them and then suddenly Cas spoke.

"Why have you been avoiding me, Dean?" he echoed Sam's words from earlier and Dean cursed his younger brother in his head for ever having brought it up.

"Cas, I..." but he realised he didn't have an answer. He definitely could not tell Castiel the real reason for his recent behaviour. Dean still didn't fully understand the real reason anyway. He'd always been a ladies man, how could he find anything to attract him to his male friend? Yet, as he ran through the last few days in his head, he realised there was a lot he could find attractive in Castiel. He admired a lot about him: his fierce loyalty, his childish innocence and even his stubborn nature. Not to mention that he had chosen a very nice vessel. Dean could not fault a single physical feature of what was now Castiel's body and he couldn't help but remember when his eyes had been drawn to his hipbones and he had to stop himself from wandering further south.

Dean seemed to snap back to reality when he realised he'd been standing in silence for about five whole minutes since Cas had asked the question. He stuttered a bit and Castiel looked at him and tilted his head in a way so familiar to Dean that he felt himself relax a little. Cas seemed to realise that he wasn't going to get an answer and reached around Dean to grab his toothbrush. Dean quietly gasped when Castiel's hand scuffed his hipbone, but not quiet enough to go unnoticed.

"You are very jumpy lately, Dean." Castiel commented in an offhand tone. Dean just nodded and continued with his teeth brushing. There was silence for a few minutes only broken when one of them spit into the sink and eventually terminated when Castiel turned to leave the room. Dean realised there was no way he could make excuses for his stalling now and he followed, flopping down on his mattress.

"Dean, would you like to sleep on the couch tonight? I imagine the floor is quite uncomfortable." Cas offered. Dean shrugged,

"Nah, it's cool."

"Or we could both sleep on the couch?" Dean's head whipped up to find Castiel's with a look of panic on his face. Castiel was just looking at him with his trademark head tilt, evidently not quite understanding Dean's over reaction.

"No. We shouldn't do that." Dean stated with authority.

"Why not?"

"Because it's...wrong."

"I don't understand. How is it wrong?"

"Because I'm not supposed to sleep with guys, okay?" Dean said this very fast and then wished he hadn't. He suddenly felt very embarassed and he turned around and lay down, facing away from Cas. He feared he had said too much. He doubted Cas would get the double meaning of "to sleep with" but he still feared that he'd let slip a secret he had never meant to reveal. His fears were realised, however, when Cas spoke again.

"I was merely suggesting we both be comfortable while we slept. I did not mean to insinuate anything else, Dean. I know that it makes you...uncomfortable." Dean opened his eyes at this. Castiel sounded disappointed and ashamed at the same time. Dean felt awful knowing that he had made Cas feel these two things when he had never wanted him to feel either.

Dean sat up and faced Castiel who was sitting on the couch with his elbows resting on his knees and his head in his hands. He was wearing a loose white t-shirt, that used to belong to Dean, and a pair of boxers. Dean couldn't help but appreciate what he could see for a moment before he spoke.

"I'm sorry, Cas. I didn't mean to offend you." Dean had meant to go on but he didn't really know what else to say. He was getting tired having to deal with whatever it was he was feeling for Castiel lately. He had no idea what he was feeling but he knew it was something you didn't feel for your friends. He was a little jealous of Castiel right now. He had only just become human and he had just known his sexuality like he'd never or would never have to question it. Dean knew that right now his own sexuality was in tatters. A straight man did not mentally undress another male.

* * *

><p>Cas kept his head in his hands when Dean apologised. Most of all he felt embarrassed. He had honestly not meant to imply anything. He felt stupid after saying it. He still wasn't used to the complexities of human relationships. He knew that Dean just considered him a friend and every time Cas was reminded of this fact something stung at the back of his eyes. He was feeling that stinging now and he could feel the palms of his hands getting wet. Eventually the tears escpaed his hands and started to fall to the floor.<p>

"Cas? Are you crying?" Dean sounded concerned. Cas looked up from his hands into Dean's eyes. "Oh my god, Cas. I'm really sorry. I really didn't mean..." Dean trailed off and stood. He sat down next to Cas and hesitantly put an arm around his shoulders. "I know it's hard for you being human now but I promise I'll help you get through it. It's really quite easy. Most of it, anyway." He didn't really know if his words made any sense. He could feel Cas' shoulders shaking a little. Suddenly he let loose a sob.

All Dean could think to do was pull him closer. Cas leaned his head against Dean's chest and cried until his eyes ran dry. Dean stayed silent the whole time, he had a feeling that nothing he could say would be able to stop the tears. When Cas eventually fell silent, Dean assumed that he had cried himself to sleep. He felt awful. He knew that he was at the very least partly to blame.

Dean ran his hand through Castiel's hair in a soothing way and then very lightly pressed his lips to the top of Castiel's head. Suddenly Cas looked up into Dean's face.

"_Shit. He wasn't asleep_." Dean must have looked more embarrassed now than he ever had before.

Dean gulped as Cas looked deep into his eyes and then he was kissing him. It was slow, not like the rushed kisses Dean usually shared with people. Those were just a prelude to what was going to follow. But this kiss was different. It was passionate in itself and Dean found that there was a light feeing in his stomach to accompany his body's other reactions. Soon he could feel himself smiling into the kiss. He put one hand on the side of Castiel's face and the other on his waist.

When they parted, there was a quiet moment when they simply looked at each other. And then Dean started laughing. Cas looked offended until Dean wrapped his arms around him and pulled him onto his lap and lightly kissed him again.

"I would love to sleep on the couch tonight."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for the reviews! Dean still has quite a lot he has to teach Castiel so I have to find some time to get it all written so you don't have to wait too long for updates. Thank you again :)<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

Dean woke up lying on his back on the couch. He opened his eyes to find Castiel's head resting on his chest, his arms around Dean's waist and their legs tangled together. He smiled and bent down to place a kiss on Castiel's head.

Dean knew that he did not want Sam and Bobby to know about how he felt for Castiel yet. He had only been willing to admit it to himself last night. However, he had no idea how to tell Cas this or even if it would upset the other man. Right now though, Dean had to get off the couch before Sam or Bobby walked into the living room. He shifted a little underneath Castiel, trying slowly to maneouver himself out. But he ended up underestimating his strength and pulled both himself and Castiel onto the floor with a thump. Cas woke and sat up suddenly, very confused. Dean laughed and apologised before helping Cas get to his feet.

When they were both standing, Dean took a deep breath before starting to talk,

"Cas, I-" he stopped and cleared his throat. "I'm not ready for Sam to know yet. Or Bobby. Do you-do you mind if we keep this to ourselves? Just for a little while." Dean looked down, he was a little scared of how Cas would react to this. But apparently he needn't have worried.

"I do not mind, Dean. I am happy now and I just want you to be also." Castiel stated in his very serious tone. Dean smiled a little before looking back at Cas,

"Thanks, Cas." Dean heard the unmistakable sound of someone's feet hitting the floor upstairs. He kissed Castiel's forehead quickly before stepping away to pull on a pair of trousers and then walked to the kitchen just as Sam came into the room.

"Morning, Sammy!" Dean shouted much to Sam's confusion. Sam knitted his eyebrows together ,

"Uh, morning, Dean." he replied slowly as he began to make some coffee.

"You hungry?"

"Uhh, yeah. Are-are you making breakfast?" Sam leaned against the counter waiting for the kettle to boil and watched Dean take eggs, bacon, sausages and just about every other food you could possibly want to eat for breakfast out of the fridge and cupboards.

"Yep. What are you hungry for?" Dean asked looking at Sam and raising his eyebrows.

"Whatever, I guess."

"Well, I'm making everything."

"I can see that. Are you okay, Dean?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sam had heard Dean say these words a hundred times over but they'd always been a cover up of what Dean was really feeling. This time, they seemed like an understatement. Dean seemed a lot more than "fine". In fact, dare he think it, Dean seemed happy. Sam continued to watch Dean as he fried, grilled and toasted with a constant smile on his face.

Castiel entered the room when Dean was almost finished cooking. He sat down at the table looking uncomfortable. At first Sam just brushed this off as Cas had often looked uncomfortable when trying to do simple human things. But then he remembered that Cas had become significantly more comfortable in his human surroundings since, well, becoming human. This was odd behaviour for him now. As Sam studied Castiel, he didn't notice Dean making a cup of coffee and taking it over to Cas. Cas looked at Dean and smiled before quickly averting his eyes.

Sam was pretty sure he'd discovered what was making Dean so happy and Castiel so uncomfortable at the same time. He smirked. Dean noticed,

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing." It was clear that Dean and Cas had agreed not to say anything and Sam wasn't about to embarrass them by telling them he'd figured it out. He just sipped his coffee, still smirking.

Dean called Bobby down when breakfast was ready and the four of them ate in silence, mostly because there was just so much to eat. But Sam couldn't help but notice the small glances and awkward smiles exchanged between his brother and his friend. And obviously Bobby had noticed too.

"Idjits." he muttered quiet enough for only Sam to hear.

When they had all finished eating Castiel said his first words of the day,

"So, what are we doing today, Dean?" Dean was about to say something when Sam jumped in. He had been meaning to take this issue up for a few days but since his brother had obviously been in a Castiel-induced bad mood, he had put it off. But he had put it off for too long now.

"I actually needed to talk to you about that, Castiel."

"About what, Sam?" Cas and Dean asked at the same time.

"I-I think it's time that we got back on the road. We can't just stay at Bobby's all the time. And I assume you're going to want to come with us." Sam said this slowly as he had thought Dean might have a bit of a negative reaction to Castiel hunting without his angel mojo.

"Yes. I would like to come with you." Sam smiled. As long as they knew Castiel was able to hold his own in a fight, Dean would only have to be the minimal amount of worried.

"Okay, then. We have to teach you some stuff now you're human."

"What stuff?" Sam raised his eyebrows and smiled.

Dean, Sam, Castiel and Bobby were standing by the Impala, the trunk open to display their arsenel. Bobby and Sam were currently teaching Castiel how to use the guns, what they were all called, how to clean them, how to fight using only fists and just about any other information Cas might need in a fight. Dean was still a little reluctant at the idea of bringing Cas along with them on hunts but he couldn't deny that Cas was able. He had shown a definite aptitude when it came to the guns. He had excellent aim and could disassemble and reassemble them faster than Dean could. He obviously still had some angel skill left in him. Well, that was what Dean told himself.

Dean was trying to think of any reason why Castiel would be unable to join them but he couldn't come up with any. He also knew that if he did think of something, there was no way he could just leave Cas with Bobby while he was on the other side of the country. Cas was going to be coming with them and there was no way out of it.

When it started to get dark, they all headed back indoors. Sam spent the rest of the night quizzing Castiel about everything he had learned today and it seemed Cas passed with flying colours. They had a late night that night and when Sam and Bobby finally went to bed, Dean and Cas were left sitting on the couch with silence stretching on for what seemed like forever until Cas spoke.

"Are you upset with me?" Dean looked up from his hands into Castiel's eyes and shook his head.

"No, I'm not. I'm just worried." he looked back down again.

"Sam seems to think I'm well prepared. There's no need to worry." Dean gave a quiet laugh.

"There's always need to worry, Cas." he looked up again and this time his and Cas' eyes locked.

"I can't stay here, Dean. I want to come with you."

"I know. I want you to come with us too." Dean smiled and Castiel knew the conversation was over. Dean gave Cas a quick kiss and then headed to the bathroom. That night, Castiel slept soundly but Dean lay awake, unable to switch his brain off.

The next few days, Dean joined in teaching Cas more and more until even Dean was pretty confident that he definitely would not like to be up against him in a fight. He felt strangely proud of how Cas was adapting to the whole human thing so fast. It turned out Cas was just as good with knives as he was with guns, hitting the middle of a target when throwing them with ease.

The first time Cas had taken out all of his targets with a mixture of knives and guns he had turned and grinned at Dean so wide, Dean had wanted to kiss him but managed to restrain himself while Sam and Bobby were around. He had jerked his head towards the house then gone inside. He had been a little worried that Cas wouldn't have gotten the hint but apparently he did. When he walked into the room Dean's mouth was on his so fast, he was almost thrown off his feet.

Cas thought he would never get used to the feeling of Dean's lips moving with his. It was one of the best things he had ever felt. He could feel himself smile into the kiss giving Dean the chance to add his tongue and Castiel thought he would spontaneously combust any moment.

A week after Cas had began his "training", Bobby entered the kitchen during breakfast and made an annoucement,

"Good news." he threw a newspaper onto the table. "You idjits are getting out of my house."

* * *

><p><strong>Yes. I finally got to post this. A note I feel like I have to add is that I am British so I use the British words for things. I couldn't bring myself to use the word "pants" instead of "trousers" because it just means something totally different to me. I doubt any non-British reader would get confused but just in case. <strong>

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. I'll try to update sooner next time.**


	9. Chapter 9

It wasn't long before Sam, Dean and Castiel were sitting in the Impala with a ten hour journey stretching out ahead of them. Dean had been hesitant on going on a hunt so soon, but he didn't bring his worries up as he knew Cas was more than ready to help. He just couldn't let his personal feelings get in the way of the job. He gripped the steering wheel a little tighter and stared straight ahead as he tried to sort out the practical thoughts about the hunt from the irrational worries for Castiel's safety in his head.

Dean had spent most of the journey in silence with the quiet hum of Metallica coming through the speakers. He was getting too much into his own head and he tried to shake his annoying thoughts away. He began to hear something above the music and he looked into the back seat to find Cas slumped and snoring. He smiled a little, Cas always looked so vulnerable and helpless while he slept. Dean looked back to the front and then wiped the smile quickly off his face when he realised that Sam was looking at him. Sam snorted with laughter.

"So are we getting seperate rooms this time?" he asked. Dean almost swerved straight off the road. He looked at Sam with panic written all over his face. He had been so careful to make sure that Sam and Bobby wouldn't find out about him and Cas until he was ready to tell them. He could hardly tell it to himself sometimes, he wasn't ready to admit that man-of-the-ladies Dean Winchester was in a relationship with his ex-angel, male best friend.

"What?" Dean asked, more like shouted, really. Sam laughed harder this time.

"We're not gonna fit three of us in a tiny motel room, Dean." Oh. Dean gulped. He had freaked out about nothing. Sam didn't know, he was just following his usual logical train of thought and, also as usual, Dean had drawn wild conclusions. He visibly relaxed and wished his heart would stop beating so loudly.

"Oh right, yeah." Dean replied while making a point to stare straight ahead.

"You okay, Dean?" Sam asked and Dean was sure he could detect the amusement in Sam's voice.

"I'm fine, man." Dean shrugged.

"You know he'll be fine, don't you? It's not like he's new to this and he can handle himself."

"Yes, I know, Sam. Why don't you try to get some sleep yourself?" Dean said without looking away from the road. Sam knew the conversation was over and he wasn't going to coax anything out of Dean now so he leaned his head back and shut his eyes.

When they finally arrived at their motel Dean was exhausted both mentally and physically and despite having spent the entire journey trying to tell himself that he was fine with letting Castiel take part in the hunt, he still hadn't convinced himself. He walked to the reception desk and threw a card on the counter and asked for two rooms with a less than polite tone. Castiel, who had slept the entire way and was now wide awake, tilted his head as he looked at Dean curiously. Dean sighed and grabbed one of the room keys and walked out of reception, Cas followed after exchanging shrugs with Sam.

Sam took the other key and watched Dean lead Cas to their room. Dean had been notably happier recently and Sam knew exactly why. He also knew that the reason for Dean's happiness was very adept in handling guns, knives, salt, holy water and absolutely everything else they could possibly need to use in any hunt. He could understand that Dean would be worried but he couldn't understand why he was actually angry at bringing Castiel with them. He decided he would have to bring it up and force Dean to talk about it because babysitting Castiel was going to be the opposite of effective in teaching him how to look after himself. But first of all, he needed more sleep.

Dean threw his bag down by one of the beds and collapsed on it while Cas closed the door. Castiel felt a little hesitant to ask the question he really wanted to. When his lips finally formed the words, they came out as a whisper.

"What was that?" he heard Dean say, muffled by his pillow. Dean sat up on the bed and looked over at Cas who was yet to step away from the door.

"You can come in, you know, this is your room too." Dean said in a pathetically jokey manner, he really was far too tired for that.

"Why are you so angry with me?" the question came out a little rushed and a bit too loud the second time. Dean sighed yet again and buried his face in his hands.

"I'm not." he said as he rose off the bed and made his way over to Castiel. "I'm just worried about you." Dean could see Castiel tense up and move away from him at that.

"You don't have to be, Dean. I am perfectly capable of handling myself in any kind of confrontation. I thought I had proved that to you." Castiel spoke in a clipped tone, not meeting Dean's eyes.

"I know, I know. You did-have. You have proved that. I will still worry though, okay? You can't stop me." Cas looked up at Dean through his eyelashes and no matter how tired Dean was, he couldn't help but smile at how adorable that looked. Dean was still trying to get used to the fact that he associated words like "adorable" with Castiel but he was definitely getting to be okay with it. Cas smiled back and Dean put two fingers under Castiel's chin to lift his head up and then brought their lips together.

Dean and Cas had shared many kisses just like this one and Dean was starting to realise that he most certainly wanted more but he had no idea how to bring this up with Castiel. He knew that Cas had as much experience in that area as he had with driving or shopping. But those had been easy ideas to bring up, this was a whole lot different.

Dean was brought out of his thoughts when he felt the absence of Cas' lips on his own. He opened his eyes to find Cas looking at him sleepily and realised that he wouldn't have to worry about any of that tonight. They decided to make use of only one of the beds seeing as they were used to the cramped sofa at Bobby's house. They both fell asleep fast.

The next morning Sam and Cas were busy talking and looking at the screen of Sam's latop while Dean was throwing back cup after cup of coffee and rubbing his eyes in an effort to simply stay awake. As far as Dean could tell they were dealing with a werewolf. He had heard "3 vics...hearts missing...silver bullet" the rest was just noise.

"Dean! You with us?" Sam was waving a hand in his face and he reached out to swat it away.

"Yeah, I'm here." Dean opened his eyes and looked at Sam who snorted a little before looking back at his laptop.

"What did I just say?" Sam challenged and Dean groaned while putting his head back down on the table. "Yeah, that's what I thought. I said that we should go check out the bodies for ourselves. Yeah?"

"Yeah, okay." but Sam had a feeling Dean would have agreed to anything in the state he was in. "I'll get my suit." he stood up and walked towards his bag when he remembered that something good would come out of this hunt after all. He would get to see Castiel wearing his suit and trench coat again.

Sam led Dean and Cas through the building, flashing their badges and announcing they were Detectives Young, Tyler and Van Zant and then they were escorted to the morgue. Sam looked over the police report and the coroner's report before looking over the bodies himself. Apparently, Sam didn't trust anyone else to help him with his research but that was absolutely fine with Dean, he could just sit back and watch Castiel from a distance. It wasn't long before Sam concluded that, yes, it was most definitely a werewolf they were dealing with and Dean jumped up smiling because they already knew how to waste a werewolf. This hunt was going to be a piece of cake.

But Dean couldn't stop thinking about how wrong he had been when the werewolf in question had knocked the gun out of his hand and sent it flying too far for him to reach. Sam and Cas had taken seperate streets but it had to be Dean who had found the right one. Yep, it just had to be, he thought as he took off at a run down the street. He didn't get very far, however, before he could feel hands and claws grabbing him from behind and dragging him to the ground. He cried out as he felt white hot pain explode across his chest and he knew that he would lose a lot of blood from that. Dean kicked his legs out and the pain and anger he was feeling must have given him some extra adrenaline because the beast flew pretty far. He didn't have enough time to be proud of himself before he heard a shot followed closely by someone shouting his name.

"Cas?" his voice was gruff and breathy.

"Yes, Dean, it's me." the deep voice replied.

"Cas." Dean whispered this time before his eyelids felt heavy and pulled him into the dark.

* * *

><p><strong>I apologise from the very bottom of my heart for the delay in posting this. I really hate that I don't update often but my workload for school has got crazy seeing as exams start next month. But after that I'm done until September! So hopefully I can get to regular updates then.<strong>

**None of these chapters have been beta'd but if anyone would like to volunteer to do that for me, it would be awesome. My best friend usually reads over things I've written but she has given up fanfiction until after her exams. She's a stronger person than I. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!**


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